


HOTEL OF SHADOW: Guns Blazing

by SkipBack



Series: Hotel of Shadow [5]
Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Hallucinations, Hotel of Shadow (Hazbin Hotel AU), Swearing, Yowza, all in all I'm a sadistic shit and if you like angst you're at the right address, angel and al being brothers because im a dickwad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:55:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21720619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkipBack/pseuds/SkipBack
Summary: Someone wants to meet the Radio Demon. The question is, why so soon after the recent extermination? And who ever could it be? Alastor doesn't know, and finding out causes something new to happen with his "lapses" (occasional bursts of pain in his head and chest).This part takes place afterThe Symphony of Agony,a part of the Hotel of Shadow AU.
Series: Hotel of Shadow [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1484603
Comments: 65
Kudos: 113





	1. LIGHT OF THE FIRE

**Author's Note:**

> god i have to keep fixing this because archive keeps bOLDING THE WHOLE DAMN THING AND IT'S JUST THE OPENING THAT'S MEANT TO BE BOLD _GAWK_
> 
> hope you like the new HoS story tho-

**_x NEXT CLEANSE x_ **

******_003_** ** **

******_\- DAYS -_** ** **

Doom was around the corner yet again. 

Charlie tapped her claws on the railing, staring at the huge clock tower that seemed to loom out of the darkness. Last year was fine. It had seemed like everything was in order, though she'd felt a huge sense of loss at the countless souls lost. Then her hotel had been attacked two days later for a week straight. 

This year... she was uncertain. Not even she felt that safe at the Happy Hotel anymore. Plus, she wasn't sure any progress had been made with most of the patients who had stuck around after the Surprise Extermination. It didn't seem like any of them were any closer to being redeemed. 

And then there was Alastor, the odd soul who had gone out of his way to protect the hotel last year (for an unknown reason no one quite knew). He'd confessed last week that he was having these sort of "lapses", as he called them. He'd had a rather terrible lapse a couple days ago, losing consciousness for a day and a half. Alastor had sworn he was fine, but some small part of Charlie could tell he was trying to hide the truth from her... as he usually did. 

The Princess of Hell heard shoes clacking behind her, _And speaking of Alastor..._ flashing in her mind as she turned to the Radio Demon. The rings under his eyes seemed darker than usual, and he appeared to be exhausted though he snapped to attention as he turned his mismatched eyes to her, pausing as he tilted his head to the side. "...shouldn't you be in bed?" Alastor asked. 

"Shouldn't you?" Charlie asked instead of replying. 

"...hm," he said, putting a hand to his chin as a thoughtful look crossed his features. "Maybe," he said eventually, shrugging. He walked up beside her, looking at the clock tower. 

"...do you think there'll be a repeat?" she asked after a minute. 

He turned his head to look at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Of what?" 

"You know... the Surprise Extermination," Charlie said. 

"I highly doubt it," Alastor said without hesitation. "I believe it was a one time occurance, dear. But you never know..." 

At that, a bell tolled and the two demons watched as the **_3_** on the clock tower become a **_2_**. 

"If it's anything like last year... we have only a few days to prepare for it." 

... 

_The next cleanse rolled around at the sound of a mournful siren._

_Alastor decided to take it upon himself to watch over the hotel, despite Charlie's... obvious concerns. Though no exterminators even glanced at the odd building that was the Happy Hotel, Alastor would not be surprised again. Even during the days after the extermination, Alastor decided to keep an eye on things... but there was no repeat of the Surprise Extermination. Just as he suspected... although... he found some small part of him had been hoping for it, and he wasn't sure why._

_Nevertheless, something came up a few days after the extermination..._

... 

"Hm! This is interesting!" 

Angel looked from his spot on the sofa, spying Alastor across the lobby with an envelope. The red stag was reading the paper inside. "What is?" Angel asked. 

"This letter," Alastor replied simply. "It appears someone wants to meet me at Rubyside." 

"Ain't that the cliffs overlooking the ocean?" Angel asked. It was a very rare area in Hell, seeing as Pentagram City was so large. Imp City was smaller, but was still big enough to be considered a city. 

"Correct! But the thing is..." He looked up at Angel. "I haven't a clue who it could be!" 

"It doesn't say?" Angel stood up, placing his hellphone in his pocket. "Is there at least a return address?" 

"If there is, it's in invisible ink because I can't see it for the life of me!" Alastor sounded remarkably enthusiastic.. 

"...okay, what the fuck?" 

"Language," Alastor said without hesitation as he looked back at the note. 

Angel paused. He tried to think of a smart remark to that, but couldn't think of anything so he shook his head and decided to ignore that. "Are you goin' ta Rubyside?" 

"Why wouldn't I?" Alastor put the letter back in the envelope, and both spontaneously burst into flame. Angel was no longer fazed by Alastor burning his letters like that. "I would like to figure out who this mysterious entity is, and why they want to see me! After all, I don't get letters like this all the time!" The Radio Demon's head turned slightly, and a thought seemed to come to him. "Although... I don't think I can go it alone," he said slowly. 

"...are you askin' me," Angel said nearly as slowly, "ta come with you?" The red-clad demon nodded. "Why?" 

"I'm no fool, my friend," Alastor said. "I may need backup, so who better than you?" 

"You need backup?" 

"Yes." 

"Seriously?" "You destroyed a fuckin'... _blimp-thing_ without even touching it, and you're askin' _me_ for backup? You pullin' my dick?" Angel crossed his arms. 

"...not really." Alastor wrinkled his nose. 

"Then why?" 

"There is a possibility I may lapse again," the red stag said softly. "Seeing as I know nothing about this mystery demon, I haven't a clue what they may do if it should happen again." 

"So... you're worried about lapsin' in front of this guy," Angel said. He snapped his fingers, pointing at the other demon. "Gotcha." 

"I didn't say that," Alastor said. 

"Sure ya didn't." 

Alastor made a small growling noise, though his expression barely shifted. "I believe I'm going to regret this..."


	2. A FIGHT OF MEDIAS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alastor finds out who he's meeting... and boy is he not happy about it.
> 
> also blood. lots n' lots of blood.

Rubyside. 

It was a small area outside of Pentagram City, red stone cliffs overlooking a seemingly endless purplish ocean. It looked remarkably nice, though the creatures beneathe the surface of the ocean were anything but. In recent years, a railing had been added... more choice decoration than actual function, seeing as most sinners tended to ignore it. 

Nice to actually get out of the city and stretch his legs. Though the reason behind it wasn't just to get out of the hotel and enjoy the view, oh no. Angel had been dragged along to Rubyside as _Alastor's_ backup, of all demons. Though the stag hadn't admitted it, Angel was still sure that he'd only asked him to come was in case he had an episode (or "lapse", as Alastor kept calling it) and the mystery demon they were meeting decided to get cocky.... hm. Maybe he could have chosen a better way to say that. 

Alastor had told him to stay quiet and let him do the talking. After all, Angel was only there in case things went off the rails. But when the duo finally got to Rubyside and they saw who was there leaning against the railing, Angel couldn't seem to hold in his surprise. "No fuckin' shit," he breathed. 

Angel sensed the Radio Demon angrily bristling beside him. He gave a low, venomous growl full with enough hate to kill everyone in Hell eight times over. 

" _Voxxxxx..._ " 

The TV-headed overlord turned away from the railing, holding his arms out with a shiteating grin on his screen of a face. The mouth on his screen face opened, but his eyes widened as they fell upon Angel. "Oh shit, it looks like _two_ of my favorite demons are here!" he said. "The Radio Fuck, and ex-porn star Angel Dust! I was only expecting to see one of you, but BOTH of you? Heheheh... wait 'til I tell Val about this..." 

" _What in the Nine Circles do you want this time?_ " Alastor hissed, his spine cracking as he arched his back like a cat's, shooting the other overlord a glare full of red hot daggers. It was off for the Radio Demon to show this much aggression without hardly being prompted. 

"Ooo, did you happen to wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, Ally?" Vox asked, raising an eyebrow. Alastor's body began to tremble, his smile widening and blood beginning to pour out of the cracks between his teeth and eyes. He was clearly anything but happy to be called _Ally_. 

Angel stood back to the side, crossing his arms but staying alert. He wondered what Vox had done to earn this sort of reaction from Alastor. The red stag was normally chill though he was menacing from time to time, occasionally allowing another side of him to peak through the surface. 

But this? 

He was just full out angry. 

Alastor obviously loathed Vox's very existence, and Vox seemed to know it. Vox chuckled, which only seemed to piss the Radio Demon off even more... which, again, wasn't like him to get angry like this. "You want to settle this, eh?" Vox asked. He laughed. "Man to man, no tricks or powers. We're doing this old school!" 

_Oh, shit._ Angel backed up further. He could already tell this was going to get bad. 

Alastor went rigid. "Man to man? No powers—you're not challenging me, are you?" he asked after a moment, narrowing his eyes. 

"Hahaha! You're not scared of close combat, are you?" Vox asked instead of replying. "Or do you rely on your little tricks too much?" 

Alastor tipped his head to the side, as though he was considering an offer. Angel normally couldn't tell what the red stag was thinking, but this time it was loud and clear. 

Vox had given him the perfect opportunity to take his rage out on his ass, and he was going to seize that opportunity. 

" _Well then!_ " Alastor said, his voice booming. " _Let's dance, shall we?_ " 

Alastor moved with surprising speed, rushing the other overlord. The Radio Demon was _charging_ Vox like a bull driven wild by pure, unbridled rage. 

Vox was too stunned to react, so Alastor crashed into him and they both toppled to the ground. Alastor had him pinned down. " _Is this all?_ " the red stag asked, his voice low. Blood dripped out of his teeth onto Vox's screen face. 

Vox didn't respond, his expression that of shock. 

"Well," Alastor said when he didn't say anything. " _That_ was fun in all, but I must be leaving. Thanks for that." He stood up, closing his eyes and brushing himself off. 

Vox sat up, an angry look on his screen face. He bared his teeth with a growl, reaching into his coat and pulling out a golden gun. 

Alastor opened his eyes just as the other overlord pulled the trigger. 

The bullet found a home in the red stag, putting a large, bloody hole in his stomach. Alastor's eyes widened in stupid surprise as his intestines decided to fall out, hanging over the edge and staining his coat with his own blood. He staggered back until he toppled over, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Vox stood up, moving to stand over the Radio Demon with a wide, smug grin. "Hahaha! This was fun in all, but I really ought to be leaving. Adios, Radio Fuck!" 

The television demon began to walk away, laughing. Angel snapped out of his surprised daze, baring his teeth. 

_Fuckin' cheater!_

He backed up, getting a running start before throwing himself at Vox... who caught Angel and threw him over his head. Angel landed on his own head, too stunned to get back up. He heard the sound electricity; the sound of Vox disappearing in an electrical burst of bright blue. 

After a minute, Angel sat up and rubbed his forehead. _Okay.... that went differently in my head,_ he thought to himself. There was a grunting sound as Alastor slowly pushed his organs back into his body, getting to his feet. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, blood soaking the front of his pinstripe coat. The blood also dripped onto his shoes and the ground. The Radio Demon stumbled over to Angel, tilting his head. "Are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned. 

It seemed like a pretty selfless thing of Alastor, checking if Angel was okay when he had a bigger wound. Maybe this Happy Hotel shit really _was_ working on him... or maybe he was in denial. Knowing Alastor, it was probably the latter. 

"Jesus shit, never mind me! Are _you_ alright?" Angel asked. 

"I'm doing just fine, thank you very much!" Alastor replied, surprisingly cheerful despite the current circumstance they were in. 

"Al, you have a fuckin' hole in your stomach!" Angel reminded him. 

"Nothing but a minor inconvenience!" He didn't seem the least bit worried. 

"'Minor inconvenience'?! Minor inconvenience my ass! You got shot in the fuckin' gut with a holy gun! For fuck's sake, you're covered in your own blood, Al! You're dyin', and that ain't no fuckin' 'minor inconvenience'." 

Alastor froze at that, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks and his greyish skin turning as white as a clean sheet of paper. "This is just hittin' you now, isn't it?" Angel asked. The red stag's gold and crimson eyes widened and he started trembling. Angel sighed, pulling a hand down his face. "Goddammit..." The white arachnid stood up. 

The other demon looked stunned, his mind clearly absent for the time being. "Oh... fuck..." Angel breathed to himself, realizing what was going on with the slightly shorter demon. He spoke up to try to grab Alastor's attention. "Al, don't go into shock on me now!" 

Of course, it was in vain. 

Alastor had never before looked so... _terrified_. Angel supposed being up on his high horse without being exterminated or defeated for so long had made him unafraid of most consquences to come his way. Angel sighed again, pulling off one of his gloves. He put it under one of his upper arms, ripping his sleeve off. He managed to remove Alastor's arms and tie his sleeve tightly around Alastor's thin stomach without his organs falling out again. 

Angel put his glove back on and put an arm around Alastor's shoulders. The other demon tensed, finally snapping out of his daze. "I know what you're gonna say," Angel said. "But if ya wanna keep standin', you gotta trust me." 

Alastor gave him a somewhat confused look, but he seemed to understand what he was getting at. The red stag heavily sighed through his nose, glancing up at the sky with a slightly tortured expression as he fit an arm around Angel. His grip tightened as the duo started forward, his eyes practically bugging out of his face. "Shit..." Angel said. 

They couldn't walk back to the hotel if _Alastor_ couldn't walk, even with support. 

Angel pulled his hellphone out of his pocket. He went through his contacts until he found Charlie's name. "Don't..." Alastor said suddenly, having been watching him do it. Angel decided he was imagining the pleading tone in his voice. 

"Do you _want_ to die?" Angel demanded hotly, his fur raising. Alastor went quiet, and Angel called the demon princess, putting the phone up to his ear. 

Hearing Charlie pick up, Angel decided to start with: "Hey Char... it's me..." 

Charlie seemed to immediately know something was wrong. " _What happened, Angel?_ " Worry and motherly concern was laced in her normally cheery voice. 

"Oh, y'know... trouble found us," Angel said. He gave a short bark of a laugh. "Uh... Al's hurt pretty badly; I don't think he can walk back to the hotel." 

Alastor shot Angel a glare as Charlie shouted into the phone, " _WHAT?!_ " 

"Hey, it's fine! We need a ride, though... do ya think you can pick us up at Rubyside?" 

" _...okay..._ " A pause. " _...can I talk to Alastor?_ " 

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure." He held the phone out to Alastor. "It's for you." 

The red stag took it. He looked at it confusedly for a sec before he put it up to one of his ears. "Hello?" he greeted cautiously. 

A pause. Angel could hear Charlie speaking, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. "Of course, sweetheart. It's nothing much really, just a hole." He sounded so calm and reassuring and oddly sweet, though his voice was a little strained. If it weren't for the circumstances, he would have sounded like he was talking to his daughter... if he had one, that is. 

Angel highly doubted it. 

"Oh, dear..." Alastor sighed tiredly. "I'm fine. It doesn't hurt that much, I swear. Cross my heart and hope to die a second time!" He flinched as though he realized what he just said. Angel heard Charlie, yelling and anxious and trying to be reassuring. "Nonono, I don't mean it like that! Just..." His voice got quiet, tired and sad. "...hurry. I don't think I can last much longer..." 

... 

By the time Charlie and Vaggie arrived in Charlie's white limo, Alastor's blood had already soaked through the makeshift bandage around his stomach. His breathing had become shallow. He was exhaustedly leaning against Angel's side, the natural light in his eyes and teeth dimming greatly, his dark red eyelids drooping. 

The Radio Demon could drop at any moment. 

Angel had spent most of the time rubbing Alastor's shoulder, trying to keep him awake and willing that Charlie would get to Rubyside as soon as possible, hoping to _shit_ that Alastor wouldn't have another episode to add to his pain. 

Alastor obviously wasn't too pleased about this, but he reluctantly stayed awake for Angel's sake. 

As soon as the limo stopped, Charlie shot out, packed to the brim with concern. Of course, Alastor tiredly tried to shake off her concern. "It's... not that bad..." he mumbled, but he was close to... well, being double dead, Angel supposed. 

Angel and Charlie helped him into the car. The red stag immediately curled up on one of the side seats, closing his tired eyes with a relieved sigh. But all through the ride back to the Happy Hotel, Angel kept poking his face to keep him awake. Oh, why couldn't the arachnid just let him sleep? He deserved the rest after what he'd been going through lately. 

Angel explained everything. Alastor was too weak to stop him, but he was really wishing he'd left out the part where his intestines fell out... for Charlie's sake. 

After that little explanation to bring Charlie and Vaggie up to speed, no one said anything for the rest of the car ride.


	3. YOU CALL THIS HEALING?

"Oh... fuck!" 

They probably wasn't the loveliest pair of words to be greeted by after getting a bloody crater in the stomach, but it was an appropriate reaction on Husk's part nonetheless. 

Blood seeped through Alastor's makeshift bandage, dripping onto the floor. His breathing was labored, Angel trying to keep him standing. The light in his eyes and teeth were so dim that you could barely tell they were still on. 

Charlie took a deep breath. "We need to get him to the medical wing, stat," the Princess of Hell said hurriedly. 

"We still don't have a doct—" Husk started, but cut himself off. "Y'know what? I'll do it. Can't be that hard." 

Husk and Angel were the ones who had to drag Alastor's bony ass down to the medical wing. Angel hurriedly tried to fill Husk in, but all the old feline cared about was what type of wound they were dealing with. A big fucking bullet hole, great. To top it all off, it was caused by an _angelic_ bullet, which explained why it wasn't healing itself. 

Fuck... well, this was going to be fun to try to fix. 

Husk kicked one of the doors open, and the feline and the arachnid lugged the deer into the room, heaving his body up onto the table in the center of the room. The medical wing was still so new... Vaggie and Charlie hadn't managed to hire a doctor or even a nurse yet. Still, Husk couldn't blame the couple for it; _they_ didn't know that _this_ was going to happen so soon. 

Husk took a claw and ripped down the center of Alastor's coat, dress shirt, and the unforunate sleeve that had been used as a makeshift bandage, pulling it a part to get a better view of the hole. "Ho-lee shit," Husk said. He could see the Radio Demon's organs, a surprising amount of blood pooling out of the hole. He took off his hat and set it aside, cracking his knuckles. They needed a fucking professional, but Husk assumed if they found the bullet and took it out, and stitched up the hole, the wound would heal up on its own. 

_Hell's fuckin' weird,_ Husk thought, shaking his head. He widened his sharp, golden orange eyes to test if he could see it... somewhere... surely this couldn't be that simple... 

Nope. He couldn't see it. He fucking knew it. 

Husk reached in, digging around in Alastor's blood-filled stomach cavity. Alastor's eyes and golden fangs brightened, and he gave a gurgling groan. His mismatched eyes practically bugged out of his head. Blood pooled out of his mouth, and Husk couldn't tell if he was actually bleeding out of his mouth or he was subconsciously trying to freak Husk out, though the red stag appeared pretty out of it. Alastor tried getting up, but Husk managed to take his other paw-like hand and push his head back down. "Save your pride, doe-boy," Husk said as he continued roughly searching Alastor's insides. It was Hell. He was a demon. Alastor would be fine... if he made it out of this, of course. 

Aha! There it was. 

Husk latched onto the thing with two claw-like fingers, pulling out a tiny golden bullet covered in dark red crimson. It almost seemed hilarious that this little hunk of metal almost ended one of Hell's most fearsome and powerful overlords. He was going to have a laugh about this later. 

"...do you know how to stitch things up?" Husk asked Angel, whom he'd almost forgotten was also in the room. 

"...I'm not doin' it," Angel said. 

"...fuck," Husk growled. 

"I can do it!" 

A little head popped up over the edge of the table, a wide single eye blinking up at Angel and Husk. Niffty looked at the hole in Alastor's stomach, wrinkling her non-existant nose. "Ugh, that doesn't look good. Wowee, that's a lotta blood! That's gonna be a pain to clean up." 

Husk hoped the little cyclops realized what she was volunteering to do. He put the bullet in his Bugs Bunny pocket, taking two edges of the hole and tugging them together. Niffty had already pulled out a needle and some white thread, but now she was hurriedly trying to stitch Alastor's skin together. 

" _Errrgh!_ " Alastor tried getting up once again. 

It was Angel's turn to push the Radio Demon's head back on the table. Alastor's eyes rolled wildly in his skull, darting left and right... but eventually, Niffty took a little pair of dark pink scissors out to cut the white thread, finishing up stitching the hole. No sooner than Niffty cut the thread, Alastor's skin seemed to... Husk didn't know how to exactly explain it, but it was like his skin was morphing together, smoothing out and becoming as though there had been no hole or damage there in the first place. Alastor took a deep breath, blissfully sighing. He folded his hands over his stomach where the hole had been, closing his eyes and finally getting that rest he'd longed for. 

For the second time today, Husk thought that Hell was weird... mostly demons and their biology. He'd been in Hell for a long time, but it was times like these where he would remember that humans couldn't do shit like this, and he would think it was weird. When was the last time a human healed like that? Never. 

Angel and Niffty left the room. Who in Heaven or Hell knew what Angel was going to do after this, but Husk assumed Niffty was going out to get some cleaning supplies to clean off the bloodied table... though Alastor probably wouldn't be waking up any time soon. If he did, it would probably be on his own time. 

... 

"Al?" 

Alastor peeked an eye open, feeling his smile widen as his vision adjusted to see the Princess of Hell staring down at him, a look of geniune concern and worry plastered on her face... a look he was becoming all too familiar with lately. "Yes, dear?" He chose to use a singsong tone of voice, hoping to drag a smile out of her, his own grand golden smile shrinking just a tad bit when she didn't. 

"...Charlie," he sighed, knowing what she was thinking. "I promise you, I'm fine." 

"Of course," she said absently, seeing as this was now something he often told her automatically. "But..." She took a deep breath, as though to work up the courage to say whatever it was she was about to say next. "I... I feel like there's something you're not telling me." 

"There's a lot of things I don't tell you, sweetheart!" Alastor said with a laugh. "A magician never reveals his secrets... and neither do I!" 

Charlie pursed her lips. That probably wasn't the best response to her, but Alastor was just a little too tired to care. "...right," she said. She went off to leave, but paused in the doorway and turned her head back to him. "Don't forget: there are people here who care about you. If you ever need to talk... just... I don't know where I'm going with this, but... just tell someone if something's wrong, Al. It won't kill you to open up a little." 

Charlie walked out, and Alastor sighed. 

_If only it were that easy,_ he thought to himself.


	4. THE VISIONS OF DARKNESS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ouchie

Alastor gave a shaky breath, carefully sitting up. 

He squinted down as his exposed torso, then lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. He barely remembered anything after getting back to the hotel, so he didn't know who or what had cut his shirt and coat (and by extension his bow tie) down the middle like that, but he decided it wasn't something he should be worked up about. 

He vaguely remembered hearing "medical wing", so he assumed he was in one of the rooms there. He sighed again, pulling a hand down his face. He hadn't expected to land up here, especially so soon after being it had been opened. 

"Comfy there, doe-boy?" 

Alastor's blood boiled at the voice. His head whipped around to a familiar face standing in the doorway where Charlie had just been... one he'd seen only a couple hours ago. 

Vox. 

Alastor slid off the table, rage coursing through his veins. " _What do you want now?_ " Alastor growled loudly. " _Wasn't it enough for you you? Or are you here to rub it in my face?_ " 

Vox gave a smug smile, slinking into the room. "You lost," Vox said. "You failed! You've fallen into the fiery pit of failure!" 

" _Shut your mouth,_ " Alastor growled. " _You cheated. No powers, no weapons!_ " 

"Technically, I said nothing about weapons," Vox said, holding his hands out. "I just said no powers or tricks. I didn't say 'no guns'." 

" _That's not how a challenge works._ " 

"I still won, didn't I? I'm above you now, doe-boy." 

" _You won by cheating!_ " He got up into Vox's face, narrowing his eyes. " _And just how did you get into the hotel, anyhow? Last I checked, you wanted_ nothing _to do with this place._ " 

"I still don't," Vox said cooly. "This place has made you soft. Why would I risk ending up like _you?_ You used to be so strong, but now? You're pathetic. You couldn't even stop me from shooting you!" 

" _I'm not soft._ " Was he? 

"Sure you're not. But you're still weak. You _lost_ a challenge, even if I did cheat! Everyone in Hell will soon know that you're not all that you're cracked up to be. How can they fear the name of the Radio Demon now?" 

Alastor clasped his hands over his ears, shaking his head wildly and closing his eyes. " _Shut up shut up shut up shut up..._ " 

He couldn't seem to block out the sound of Vox's horrible, raspy voice. "What's the matter, Ally? Can't handle the truth?" Alastor heard Vox walk closer. "Too bad, doe-boy. It's the cold truth. There's nothing you can do now." 

" _SHUT UP!_ " Alastor whirled around on Vox. " _What makes you think you can just waltz in here, after what you've done to me? You've caused me nothing but pain! Ever since the Surprise Extermination, I've been kicked off my own two feet more than I care to count. And what have you done for me? Nothing! Not a thing for me! So do me a favor and shut your FUCKING MOUTH!_ " 

"Pathetic." 

His blood felt like it was made of lava. " _Get out._ " 

"No." 

He'd never felt so enraged before. " _Are you deaf? I SAID GET OUT!_ " 

Vox didn't move, so Alastor gave him a strong shove. Vox stumbled back, but still didn't move. " _GET OUT! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!_ " 

Vox calmly walked up to Alastor, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"You're nothing," he said. 

_Something deep inside of him snapped._

Alastor took a strong hold of Vox's arm, then pulled as hard as he could, pulling it out of his arm socket. 

"CHARLIE!" 

Alastor saw Vaggie in the doorway. He was confused, seeing as Charlie wasn't in the room, but he then blinked and his heart dropped into his stomach. 

_No._

Charlie was standing before him, stunned. She was not Vox. Her whole arm was missing. He'd torn _her_ arm clean off, not Vox's. 

Alastor's fury flooded out immediately. Vaggie stomped over to Charlie, standing in front of the demon princess and seemingly pulling a spear out of no where. She pointed it at Alastor's throat. "I knew you were no good," she practically snarled. 

Alastor released the arm. All he felt was shock and dread. He started backing up, tripping over the table behind him and colliding into the ground. He let it happen, and the wind was knocked out of his lungs for the second time today. 

_What have I done?_

"Are you alright?" he heard Vaggie ask Charlie. He heard Charlie start to sob as well, and his heart shattered. How could this have happened? When had Charlie come in? Had she been there from the beginning? Was it her talking the whole time? He remembered what he said about the Surprise Extermination and an unexpected amount of guilt settled in. 

_Oh... Charlie..._

He heard the couple leave. He curled himself into a ball, trying to push away the odd flood of guilt that crashed over him like a tidal wave. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight the guilt and the pain in his heart down. He tried to keep it from overcoming him, but he felt it all engulf him and he shed his first tears in Hell. 

_Charlie... I'm so sorry..._


	5. IN A DIFFERENT VIEW

She'd almost made it to the end of the hallway when he heard Alastor speaking. 

" _What do you want now? Wasn't it enough for you, or are you here to rub it in my face?_ " 

Charlie froze. She hadn't heard anyone walk into Alastor's room. Especially not that fast. 

" _Shut your mouth,_ " she heard him growl. " _You cheated! No powers, no weapons!_ " He paused, then said, " _That's not how a challenge works._ " 

Who was he talking to? 

" _You won by cheating!!_ " A short pause. " _And just how did you get into the hotel, anyhow? Last I checked, you wanted nothing to do with this place._ " 

Charlie turned around, heading back to the room. 

" _I'm not soft,_ " Alastor growled. Charlie peeked in. 

It was only him, standing alone. He must have fixed his clothes, for his torso was no longer exposed. 

Alastor looked as though he was staring at someone, though no one was there. He put his hands over his ears, squeezing his eyes shut and wildly shaking his head. " _Shut up shut up shut up shut up..._ " he repeated over and over to himself. 

"Alastor? Is everything alright?" she walked up to him. "What's going on?" 

" _SHUT UP!_ " She flinched as he violently turned to her, and though he was looking over her head, it felt like he was talking to her. " _What makes you think you can just waltz in here, after what you've done to me? You've caused me nothing but pain! Ever since the Surprise Extermination, I've been kicked off my own two feet more than I care to count. And what have you done for me? Nothing! Not a thing for me! So do me a favor and shut your FUCKING MOUTH!!!_ " 

Charlie flinched again. She'd never heard Alastor swear before, and it felt wrong for him to use such vulgar language. She thought over his words and her shoulders slumped, suddenly feeling guilty. 

"Alastor..." 

His face turned to that of pure, unbridled anger, though his smile remained. " _Get out._ " 

"...what?" She was genuinely stunned. He started shaking. 

" _Are you deaf? I SAID GET OUT!!!_ " He pushed her. She stumbled a little, but she didn't move. You don't take shit from other demons, after all. " _GET OUT! GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!_ " 

She walked up to him, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay." 

Alastor suddenly grabbed her arm. Charlie was too stunned by this to react, especially when she felt bone, muscle and skin being pulled a part. 

_He'd torn her arm off._

"CHARLIE!" 

It was Vaggie, but she was too stunned to turn around. Alastor looked confusedly at the moth demon and blinked. When he looked at Charlie again, a look of pure dread crossed his features, a smaller version of his smile on his face. Vaggie stomped in, shielding Charlie and aiming a spear at Alastor's neck. "I knew you were no good," she said. Alastor dropped Charlie's arm, backing up until he fell over the table in the center of the room. 

Vaggie put her spear down, turning to Charlie. "Are you alright?" she asked. Charlie finally snapped out of her daze. She looked down at her arm, and though it felt silly, Charlie did the first thing that came to mind: she started crying. 

Vaggie put an arm around Charlie's shoulders, allowing her to sob into her long white hair. The moth led her out of the room, leaving Alastor by himself. 

... 

_Charlie's arm healed within the span of two hours._

_Niffty went into the room where Alastor was to pick up Charlie's old arm and finally clean off the bloody table. While cleaning, she found Alastor had disappeared. Where did he go? She did not know._

_Vaggie merely snorted when Niffty relayed the news, stating it was good to see him gone, especially after what he did to Charlie. Charlie herself didn't say a word, but she'd finally stopped crying at this point, feeling a little embarrassed for doing so. She purposely didn't provide a comment, as she wasn't sure how to feel about that._

_He didn't come back that night. Or the days during the week after that._

_No one was expecting him to._

_He clearly wasn't coming back._

... 

_END OF PART FIVE_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for checkin' out Hotel of Shadow, whether you just jumped in here or was here since I started working on _Bloody Party_! I'd really missed writing something like Bloody, so I decided to write _Guns Blazing_! Guns is extra special to me, especially since I named chapter three after another story on here that I enjoy and I am TOTALLY owning up to it. 
> 
> And I'm thanking two people I've just dubbed my new Unofficial Analyzing Team, ScatterBRAIN_95 and CyberneticFire (it's only unofficial because we've never met in the public eye fhcrfc)! I absolutely adore hearing what you two have to say any time I release a HoS chapter or story now, and you both actually help inspire new headcanons and ideas for how I write the series! You two are utterly fucking brilliant, and I don't mind how wordy your comments are, just keep being amazing! :3 
> 
> As much as I _loooooooooove_ to ramble at the end of big stories, I have to end this note here! But I have to say one more thing before I go: 
> 
> " _Plenty more left in store~! Stay tuned."_


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